Why we’re FinTreking to Silicon Valley

Midwinter is attending the Implemented Portfolio Thought Leadership Study Tour in the United States next month and as the departure date fast approaches, Managing Director – Julian Plummer explains why they believe this is integral to the continual innovation of their software and what this will mean for their users.

The classic fear of the unknown in business is one that many have invested a great deal of time and money into trying to solve. The problem is that there are two classes of “unknowns” in FinTech companies (and for all businesses for that matter) –

There is uncertainty and then there is risk.

Financial planners quite often use the words ‘uncertainty’ and ‘risk’ in the same breath, but they but the difference in their meanings is quite profound.

We know that with ‘risk’ – although the outcome is unknown in advance, the range of potential outcomes are known – like with the flip of a coin or rolling of a dice.

‘Uncertainty’ is something else altogether. Not only are you unaware of the outcome, you are unaware of the potential outcomes, let alone their probabilities.

Why the splitting of the hair?

Real opportunities for innovation only exist in the face of genuine uncertainty. If we want to innovate successfully, we not only have to tolerate uncertainty – we need to seek it out. This is the only way we can convert uncertainty into manageable risk. This is how we make the ‘fear of the unknown’ a little more palatable and a lot more exciting!

And where better to do so then in Silicon Valley, California?

Silicon Valley has become the Disneyland for tech-savvy adults. Not only is it perceived to be the Mecca of innovative ideas, but it’s also the place where individuals go to make these ideas become a reality. It’s the place where “fear and doubt” are turned into brilliance. The place where leaning into ‘uncertainty’ and ‘risk’ is mandatory.

If we really mean business when we Aussie FinTechers say we want to innovate, then this is one of the key places we must learn and leverage from.

This is why Midwinter is taking part in the Implemented Portfolios Thought Leadership Study Tour – organised and run by arguably one of our sector’s truly influential and disruptive thought leaders – Santi Burridge.

Myself along with our Brand Manager – Naomi Christopher, and an all-star industry cast of individuals who also share our passion for pushing advice forward (Santi Burridge – Implemented Portfolios, Sue Viskovic – Elixir Consulting, Mark Nagle – Treysta Wealth Management, Matt and Michael Heine, John Hanrahan – Netwealth, Alisdair Barr – Grad Mentor, Amreeta Abbott – NowInfinity, Stewart Bell – Audere Coaching & Consulting, Aleks Vickovich, Malcolm Palmer – Joseph Palmer & Sons, and Brent Fairhead – Lawrence Wealth) are attending a week jammed packed full of meet ups with some of the most innovative leaders and companies within the U.S financial planning space.

We can’t wait.

The last ten years of financial planning software has run on the “managed hosted” model. Today’s planning software is cloud. It is API. Best of breed. It is promiscuous – it wants to lock lips with everyone.

But what does tomorrow’s software look like?

We want to find out. And we believe this is one of the best ways to start gathering intelligence.

Above all, when it comes to technology – Midwinter is competitive. We want to make sure our users have the latest and greatest – FIRST. By making sure we are ahead of the curve when it comes to financial planning technology, we are ensuring that our users won’t be late to the party. Part of our ongoing commitment to our clients is that our software continues to be cutting edge. Choosing to embark on this tour is a part of honouring that commitment.

We’ve had a saying at Midwinter since the release of AdviceOS – incremental improvements while pushing our clients along the latest upgrade path with us.

What is the upgrade path for the next ten years? With the rate that technology is tumbling along, it’s hard to say precisely. What we do know is that even if we can’t determine the exact outcome just yet, we’d rather be aware of the range of potential outcomes – we’d rather turn uncertainty into manageable risk.

And we believe as a technology provider, that it’s our duty to the financial advice industry and our users to do so.